PENSAGA

Malam ini, Sabtu 23 Agust. 08 ada acara yang lumayan penting di sekolah Angie, PENTAS SENI SMA N 3 SEMARANG, atau yang lebih dikenal dengan PENSAGA. Untuk tahun ini ada dua band yang cukup terkenal yang diundang, yakni SHEILA ON SEVEN, dan THE CHANGCUTERS (tulisannya bener ga? ) Kupikir acara ini sebegitu pentingnya seperti acara pesta prom yang pertama kali kukenal (dan juga dikenal Angie) lewat buku PRINCESS DIARIES sehingga merupakan kewajiban bagi semua siswa untuk datang. Berhubung sekolah-sekolah lain pun menyelenggarakan acara yang sama—di lain waktu tentu saja—maka keberhasilan—dibuktikan dengan lakunya tiket—acara ini pun menjadi kebanggaan sekolah masing-masing.
Khusus untuk tahun ini, cerita Angie, SMA N 3 Semarang disaingi oleh “musuh bebuyutannya” SMA N 1 Semarang yang dengan sengaja menyelenggarakan PENSMANSA—or whatever you call it, I don’t really pay attention to it—pada hari yang sama. Semula SMANSA berencana untuk mengundang ANDRA & THE BACKBONE yang sedang naik daun untuk menarik perhatian anak-anak remaja sekota Semarang, agar mereka lebih memilih untuk hadir ke SMANSA daripada ke SMAGA. Rencana ini gagal karena konon ANDRA & THE BACKBONE sedang berada di Australia sehingga menolak undangan ke Semarang. Sebagai gantinya, SMANSA mengundang KOTAK yang merupakan band INDI, yang diharapkan akan mampu menarik minat para remaja yang suka ber-band ria, dan memimpikan memiliki rekaman suatu saat nanti dengan cara ber-INDI ria.
Bisa ditebak siapakah pemenang di atas kerta persaingan antara dua Sekolah Menengah yang semenjak dua dekade lalu (atau mungkin lebih lama dari ini) berusaha menunjukkan mana yang lebih baik. Semua tiket masuk PENSAGA tahun ini telah laku terjual H-A-B-I-S.
Aku tidak tahu sejak kapankah “tradisi” mengadakan PENTAS SENI dengan mengundang band-band papan atas—yang bagiku lebih cenderung menghambur-hamburkan uang daripada untuk menimba suatu pengalaman berharga—dimulai di Semarang. (Aku tidak akan pernah tahu jika aku tak memiliki anak remaja tentu!)
Dua dekade yang lalu tradisi yang ada adalah menyelenggarakan pesta sederhana yang biasanya dilaksanakan untuk merayakan HUT SMA N 3 Semarang yang jatuh pada tanggal 1 November. (SMAN 3 Semarang diresmikan oleh pemerintah kolonial Belanda pada tanggal 1 November 1877). Pesta ini hanya menampilkan kesenian masing-masing kelas, mulai dari seni tari, membaca puisi, paduan suara, band sederhana, dll. Dan biasanya pesta ini menarik perhatian para alumni yang tanpa ada undangan resmi langsung datang untuk reuni dengan guru-guru.
Dan aku sangat sedih mengetahui tak ada lagi “pesta” khusus untuk merayakan HUT SMA N 3 Semarang, dimana para alumni berdatangan untuk bereuni. Aku tidak yakin apakah para alumni lain akan tertarik untuk menghadiri PENSAGA seperti yang telah dikenal Angie semenjak dua tahun lalu. PENSAGA ini terlalu hingar bingar, banyak anak remaja dari sekolah-sekolah lain berdatangan untuk sekedar hanging out.
Aku lebih sedih lagi tatkala Angie tidak mengizinkanku datang bersamanya.  “You are old enough to hang out with my friends and me, Mom! Don’t make me feel like you are babysitting me!” katanya dua tahun lalu.
Here I am, at home, scribbling something, accompanied by some beautiful melodies I got from one loved one of mine, plus a cup of coffee. And Angie is there, at her school.
PT56 21.05 230808

Podungge Girls

Angie and me, 2019

 

Have you ever heard television serials entitled GILMORE GIRLS? 

Around a year ago a workmate of mine promoted this serials to me. “You’ve got to watch it, Ma’am, and I guarantee you will love it a lot!!!” 

I am not a television freak. I even ignore television a lot in my daily life so please understand me if I had never heard this serials before that workmate of mine told me about it. 

“How do you know that I will love it?” I inquired. 

“Because the story is about a single mother and her daughter. This is so you and Angie, isn’t it?” she explained. Wah … 

***** 

I bet my workmate was not a good campaigner so I didn’t really feel curious. LOL. Or, I belong to the type of person who is not easily ‘tempted’ by something. LOL. Therefore, I didn’t directly look for this serials in the VCD rental. Even when I saw it on sale at one big bookstore in Semarang, I had no idea to buy it. 

Until one day, several months ago, I found out a workmate—who belongs to a newbie in my workplace—had the complete collection of the first session. Nevertheless, I didn’t directly ask her to lend me. I am really a slow person in this kind of thing. LOL. 

Several days ago, another workmate borrowed the collection. When another workmate asked, “What is it about?” the workmate who promoted this serials to me for the first time answered, “This is about Ms. Nana and Angie.” 

W-O-W. 

***** 

Gilmore Girls

 

Today, July 31, 2008, I have watched episodes 1, 2, and 3 from season 1. Well … one thing in common between the two Lorelai Gilmore girls with Angie and me is of course absolutely the intimate relationship, we don’t look like a mother and a daughter. We are more to a girl friend with another girl friend. The rest? 

Absolutely those Gilmore girls are different from Podungge girls. (FYI, according to CEDAW, women are free to choose any family name. Therefore, even though Angie’s dad doesn’t have PODUNGGE behind his name, Angie is free to adopt this family name behind her name. Well, I assume Angie doesn’t mind it. If in fact she minds it, well, it is never late for me to release it from her name. LOL.)

What are the differences between Gilmore Girls (GG) and Podungge Girls (PG)? 

First, Lorelai got pregnant when she was 16 years old. I got pregnant when I was twenty-three years old and delivered Angie to this world when I was twenty-four years. This made our age gap bigger. Even though many people get surprised to know that I already have a teenage daughter for the first time, I assume I look old quickly after I reached the middle-aged period. LOL. (FYI, a big fan of mine said I looked 10 years younger when I was not wearing makeup and I was wearing a bright color T-shirt plus jeans; not my black work suit. LOL.) 

Second, Rory tried hard to have a good relationship with her grandparents while Angie didn’t seem successful in it. When watching episode 3 where Rory seemed to enjoy playing golf with her grandpa, I was wondering if Angie would be that nice to bother herself for having a good relationship with her grandpa, if only my dad were still alive. I am like Lorelai who didn’t want her parents to interfere her way to raise Rory. 

However, Lorelai didn’t find it difficult to have a poignant debate with her mother, especially. On the other hand, I cannot do that to my mother, at least until now. 

Oftentimes when my mother tells Angie to do this and that—especially when I am not at home—Angie often doesn’t give it a damn. She pretends not to hear what her granny says. LOL. When she tells me what her granny says that unfortunately is against to what she likes, I usually say, “That’s your granny, honey. She doesn’t change a bit. She used to say such things too to me when I was a teenager. Just be patient.” Only the difference was, I kept listening to what my Mom said, standing close to where she was blubbering, Angie left her granny, entered the bedroom, then banged the door. LOL. 

Third, Lorelai and Rory lived in a separate dwelling place from Rory’s grandparents. Angie and I live together with my Mom. Well, one most important reason was Angie refused to live in our ex small dwelling place, only both of us, because she didn’t want to be at home all alone when I was at the office. My working hours—mostly from 3pm till 7pm or sometimes 9pm—are very much different from the usual working hours for everybody else—from 8am till 4pm. Even though Angie doesn’t really have a good communication with her granny, she still chooses to live in our dwelling place now, together with her granny, rather than she is home alone while I am still at the office. Fourth, I love drinking coffee. But I don’t think I am as addicted to it as Lorelai did. I never drink coffee more than three cups a day. Three cups are the maximum number; and I hardly reach that number. Mostly I can control myself by only having one cup a day. 

Anything else? 

Well, perhaps I can make the list longer after I watch more episodes of GG. 

:) 

PT 23.45 310708